


Why?

by mrsbertucci



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Medical Trauma, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 08:23:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18796600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsbertucci/pseuds/mrsbertucci
Summary: The Doctor asks Rose a question that clears the air between the two.





	Why?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TenRoseForeverandever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenRoseForeverandever/gifts).



> This is a birthday fic for TenRoseForeverandever! She is such a wonderful part of my life and I wanted to do something special for her. She loves angst and I tried to deliver. I do have a happy ending though! 
> 
> Thanks so much to my friend HelloStarlight20 for her excellent beta work! I really appreciate your help!!

 

The Doctor ran, dodging the falling chunks of rock and beams of wood, cradling the scared little girl to his chest.  He had seen Rose exiting the unstable structure, leading a line of children out shortly after this planet’s version of an earthquake. He was able to focus more on his rescue attempt knowing his pink and yellow girl was safe. 

He had rushed back in when the mistress of the orphanage shouted that a four-year-old girl was missing.  Thankfully, he had found Cara on the second floor, huddled down in a corner of the girls’ bedroom.  He had immediately scooped the crying child into his arms and ran as fast as his long legs and superior physiology would allow. 

He saw daylight and put on a last burst of speed as the building gave up its fight, crashing down just as he passed the threshold. Tucking a screaming Cara tightly to his chest, he threw himself down and rolled away from the dust and the rubble.  He comforted her as everything settled.

“It’s alright, Cara.  You’re safe.  I’ve got you.” 

It wasn’t long before hands were pulling at them, helping him to his feet.  The mistress was sobbing as she pulled Cara into an embrace, rocking the child lovingly in her arms. 

“Doctor…” Caffie, the chief of police, trailed off, looking fearful.

The Doctor fervently brushed dust particles and debris from his hair.  “That’s everyone, then?  What injuries are we working with?  Bring ‘em by my ship and have Rose meet me as well.” 

He had started in the direction of the TARDIS, but Caffie grabbed his upper arm, halting his movements.  “Doctor!” 

Turning, the Doctor met the officer’s eyes, and his stomach jumped into his throat.  No. No, no, no…

“Where’s Rose?”

Caffie’s voice broke.  “W-we tried to st-stop her, but she wouldn’t listen.”

The Doctor stood to his full height, towering over the man. “Tell me where she is!” 

Swallowing audibly, Caffie recounted how an orphan teenage boy found Rose and told her he couldn’t find his baby brother.  Rose being Rose, she’d run in after the boy _after_ the Doctor had run in for Cara… 

“But she never came back out,” Caffie whispered. 

The Doctor spun to face the now demolished orphanage. Rose, _his_ Rose, was trapped somewhere in there bleeding and broken- NO!  She would be in there, but she would be alive.  She had to be.  He was supposed to tell her how he felt about her tonight by the waterfall beneath the purple sky.  He had almost lost her at Canary Wharf.  That’s right, Universe… _almost_! He was not losing her now!

He took off his long overcoat and thrust it into Caffie’s arms.  “I’m going to get her.” 

Caffie reached out, clearly intent on stopping the Doctor, but one look from the Oncoming Storm and he relented.  “Go with the great Haiku-Ra, Doctor.”

The Doctor scaled the debris, climbing to an opening that he could drop down in.  He stumbled on an uneven log but quickly righted himself.  He stilled, waiting for anything moving to settle before calling out. 

“Rose?” 

In the distance, his Gallifreyan hearing picked up a high-pitched whimpering. 

“ROSE!” 

Slowly and cautiously, he climbed down through small holes and openings being held up by pieces of rock and wood.  The whimpering grew louder the lower he got. 

“Hello?  Rose, is that you?  Please, answer me!  Please, Rose!” 

The Doctor held back tears, but nothing could hide the desperation and terror in his voice.  They had gotten so much closer after France, since he had pulled his “regeneratin’ alien head out of his tight Time Lord bum”, and stopped trying to push her away. 

They had been all smiles and snogs when they’d landed at Jackie’s. It was supposed to be quick trip, laundry needed to be done and he’d needed to ask for Jackie’s blessing. The Time Lord had had plans for his future with Rose.  But ghosts and power-hungry secret government officials had thrown a spanner in the works. 

Daleks and Cybermen.  Pete Tyler and parallel worlds.  Void stuff and yellow buttons.  It had all been too much.  

He hadn’t cared what the outcome would have been... as long as Rose was safe.  He’d sent her away to the parallel world, and if his hearts hadn’t already been breaking at the thought of living without her, they would have shattered at her look of utter betrayal. 

But his Rose had returned to face the most dangerous situation he’d been in since the Time War, because she loved him and hadn’t wanted him to be alone.  

Using a rope to tie themselves to the magna-clamps had been a genius idea and he’d been grateful for Rose for her brilliant mind for coming up with it.  Especially after the Dalek had knocked her lever out of position. 

When all had been said and done, he had held her that night as she’d cried over the loss of her mum.  He’d been able to burn up a sun so she could say goodbye to Jackie, but the process had been taxing on the TARDIS and he’d gotten caught up in necessary repairs. He hadn’t intentionally neglected his Rose, but he’d still wanted to make it up to her.  That’s how they’d arrived on Carexal.  The waterfalls were illuminated at night and set the perfect ambiance for telling the love of your lives how she made life worth living. 

Now, he searched for her. His hearts were pounding and sweat beaded on his forehead.  Terror gripped him as his mind conjured too many awful states he might find Rose in.  She had to be alright. He may not have procured Jackie’s blessing, but once he found her safe, sitting in a corner, and holding the little boy she’d gone in to rescue, he’d tell her. 

The tiny cries were getting louder, and he moved as fast as possible. He wanted to tear through the rubble, but the unstable structure prevented it.  In his haste he tripped over a broken bed frame, landing hard on his knee.  He didn’t notice the pain because he knew he was getting close to his Rose. 

 A fallen rod held a torn curtain, blocking his view to where the sound was coming from. Impatient, frantic, he ripped the fabric back and came face to face with his worst nightmare. 

Rose was lying on her side, unconscious, and bleeding from a gash in her forehead.  His quick Time Lord brain assessed the rest of his pink and yellow girl.  She was breathing, but the rate was too rapid, most likely due to pain. Her right ankle was caught under a chunk of ceiling, no doubt the bone was crushed.  A thick wooden rod was imbedded through the thigh muscle of the same leg. All his breath rushed out— the projectile had missed her artery.  

She was covered in dirt and dust and so was her charge. Huddled against her chest was a crying toddler.  Even in the state Rose was currently in, she still protected the boy, holding him in her arms.  He had never loved her more than he had in that moment. 

Carefully, the Doctor picked his way over to them and forced himself to focus on the boy.  “Hello.  I’m the Doctor. Are you hurt?” 

Thumb lodged in his mouth, the boy shook his head no.  

“Okay.  Good, that’s good.  Can you come over to me?”  Again, the boy shook his head and burrowed further into Rose.  She flinched at the boy’s movements and the Doctor winced.  “Okay.  That’s fine. Can you tell me your name?” 

Before the boy could answer, the wall to the Doctor’s left crumbled.  He dove forward, shielding them with his body the best he could. 

“Callum?  Can you hear me?  Doctor? Rose?”

The Doctor reared back when the little boy, Callum, began to squirm.  “Brudder!  Brudder, here!” 

Looking over, the Doctor saw that Caffie and another young man had managed to shift some of the collapsed wall and had made an opening. At the sight of his big brother, Callum began to scramble away from Rose. 

“Easy does it.  Here.” The Doctor helped Callum climb the debris, high enough that his brother could grab him.  Seeing the boy safe, he turned back to Rose.  Kneeling down, he cupped her cheek.  “I’m here, Rose.  You’re going to be alright, you hear me?  I’ll fix you right up and then I’ll take you to that waterfall I told you about.” 

“Doctor! Did you find Rose?” Caffie shouted down to him as he began to run the sonic over his companion.

Ignoring the man, the Doctor focused on the results the sonic was giving him.  She had a concussion and the rest of her injuries were to the right side of her body.  _She must have landed on that side._   His love had a dislocated shoulder and hip, the wound to her thigh, and a broken ankle and foot.  His hearts broke for the pain she must have felt. 

She was sweating and her breathing never slowed.  He felt for her pulse on her neck and sucked in a sharp breath at how unsteady her rhythm was.  He needed to get her to the TARDIS _now_! 

He peered up through the opening, mentally measuring the diameter. This could work… 

“Caffie!  I need a stretcher and some rope!” 

10R10R10R10R10R 

Rose gasped awake, tears already rolling down her temples into her hair as pain like she had never known ripped through her body. 

_What the hell happened to her?_  

A cool hand caressed her cheek. The Doctor. “Shhh, it’s okay, Rose.  I’m here.  I got you all fixed up, but you’re still going to have some pain. Let me get you something to help with that.”  She heard him move around, jostling unknown items, but she hurt too bad to open her eyes and watch.  She sensed him returning to her side.  “Open your mouth, precious girl.” 

She didn’t want to move.  Her head was pounding, and her entire right side felt like all the bones had been beaten with a mallet.  She whimpered. 

“Please, Rose.  I know it hurts, but I _promise_ this will help you.” 

Opening her mouth, even as little as possible, was taxing, but when the mint-flavored film melted on her tongue she was immediately able to take a deep breath. Silently, she praised the effectiveness of the forty-fifth century analgesic. 

“Good girl,” he soothed. “Can you open your eyes for me?” 

Suddenly, she was overrun with images: the beautiful purple sky, visiting the children, the walls beginning to shake.  Faces flashed behind her lids: the mistress of the orphanage, the children she had led to safety, Callum’s brother crying for his younger sibling.  Callum! 

Forcing her eyes open, she met the Doctor’s worried gaze. “Callum, h-he was hiding under his bed.  Is he alright?” 

Worry morphed into relief at the sight of her whiskey irises, and he ran his fingers through her hair and rested his other hand over her heart. “Callum’s fine.  You saved his life by protecting him when the building collapsed.  He was reunited with his brother a little dusty but unharmed.” 

Now that the pain had subsided a substantial amount, Rose relaxed into the med bay cot.  “Thank God.  He was so scared, Doctor.” 

She closed her eyes as she relived the heartbreak she’d felt as she searched for the little boy.  She’d been playing with Callum when the earthquake had started, and in the chaos, she had missed him darting under his bed. She could still hear his cries for help. 

Rose opened her eyes when the Doctor spoke. 

“Why?”  The single syllable question was whispered, but the fear behind it was amplified.  “Why would you do something like that?” 

Rose stared at the Doctor like he’d grown a second head. “Are you seriously askin’ me why I saved a little boy’s life?”  She couldn’t comprehend the swirl of emotions the Doctor was projecting. He’d seemed proud that she’d saved Callum, but now he was… angry? 

“No, I know why you saved his life.  That’s who you are; you’ll never turn away from someone who needs help.” He closed his eyes, sighing through his nose, before pinning her with his furious glare. “I want to know why you are so careless with the _one life_ you have.  You’re always taking risks! You put me through hell, Rose! Why do you do it?” 

_Did he just fucking say what I think he said?_ Rose was weak, but she still managed to smack his hand away from her hair and the other from where it rested on her chest.  Anger burned through her veins and words she’d been holding back spilled forth. 

“Are you kiddin’ me, Doctor? _I_ put you through hell? How can you say that when you’ve been avoidin’ me for the last few days?  You’ve torn my heart apart with the way you’ve treated me!” The tears started to pour down her cheeks, all the hurt and frustration since he’d sent her away coming out.  “And since when do you care what I do with my life? Huh, Doctor? How many times have _you_ disregarded my life?  You couldn’t wait for me in the lift on New Earth.  Didn’t care when I never showed up to dinner in Scotland.  Left me three thousand years in the future to rot away on a malfunctioning space station.” 

The Doctor stood and began to pace in front of her.  “Why are you bringing that up again?  We’ve talked about it.  We’ve moved on. You said you forgave me!” 

Rose struggled to a sitting position, her body protesting the movement, but she was too upset to lay down any more.  “I thought I had, but then you sent me away, to another _universe_ , like I meant _nothing_ to you.  You’ve shown me how much I mean to you time and time again, so don’t you sit there an’ act the wounded one. You’re just pissed ‘cuz now you’re _stuck_ with me.” 

His jaw dropped as he came to a halt.  “Rose… I sent you away to, to, to protect you, not because I-I want to be _rid_ of you.  I needed you to be safe.  That’s all I ever want is for you to be safe… and to be by my side.  I haven’t been avoiding you.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right, Doctor.” 

“I _haven’t_! The TARDIS had overworked herself to send your mum that projection.  I hated to be apart from you, but I _had_ to fix our ship.” 

Rose sighed, the fight draining from her.  She didn’t want to argue with the Doctor.  She wanted to cuddle up with him and move past all the hurt.  Because, deep down, she knew he did the idiotic things he’d done out of love… even if he never said the word.  He was an alien, and sometimes she needed to remember that. 

She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers.  “Com’ere, Doctor.”  He rushed forward and enveloped her hand in both of his, sitting at her side.  “Do you truly want me here?  With you?” 

He pressed his lips to her fingers. “Oh, yes.” 

Placing her other hand on top of his, she stared him down. “Then trust me, Time Lord. Trust me to know what I’m doin’. I don’t risk my life on purpose.  I’m not tryin’ to hurt myself an’ I don’t have a death wish. Because the last thing I ever want is to leave you.  I promised you forever and I mean it.  Will you accept my forever?” 

He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “Nothing would make me happier.” 

“Yeah?” She affectionately nuzzled his nose with hers.

Placing a reverent kiss to her full lips, he whispered, “Yeah.” 

“Why’s that, then.” 

He shifted to lay down next to her, cradling her to his chest. “Because,” he huffed out a petulant sigh. “I wanted to tell you this in a grand, romantic setting, but I digress… Rose Tyler, I love you.  Have done for a while now.” 

“I love you, too, my Doctor. Since you were all big ears and leather, and I’ll love you no matter what you look like later on down the road.  We can do this, Doctor, me and you.  Do you know why?” 

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.  “Because if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in _us_.”

 

The End.


End file.
